U.S. stocks were headed for early gains after a deluge of better-than-expected earnings reports boosted confidence. Among those who have beaten expectations are Apple, United Technologies, Coca Cola, US Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Yahoo.
There are no major economic reports scheduled for today, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify at the Senate Banking Committee at 2:00 pm ET. Separately, President Obama is due to sign the financial reform bill at 11:30 am ET.